


A Group Effort

by everwitch



Series: a series of non-disclosure dilemmas [1]
Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: A whole lot of NDAs, Blindfolds, Bondage, Canon Compliant, Casual Sex, Conversations about sex and and fantasies, Explicit Consent, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Just adults having fun together in the bedroom, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, Like a ridiculous amount, Literally threesome porn with plot ft. star wars banter and inconspicuous matchmaking, M/M, Matchmaking, Meet Theo and Kenji, Olympic Athlete, Post-Canon, Praise Kink, SO MUCH FLUFF, Smut, Teasing, Threesome - M/M/M, no jealousy, painter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:46:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28529430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everwitch/pseuds/everwitch
Summary: It takes a bit of time, before they manage to find the right person – a guy they’re both into, who is into whatthey’reinto, and who is willing to sign a massive NDA even before they’ve made it to the bedroom. But once they do? It’s good. It’s so, sogood.Still, nothing lasts forever, and when Theodore’s career takes him across the pond, Alex and Henry must consider whether or not they should start searching for someone else. Except in the end, they don’t have to search at all – Kenji is equal parts a surprise, and an absolute delight.But the biggest surprise of all is the fact that, somewhere between a lot of really fun sex and some lazy, post-coital Star Wars banter, Alex and Henry end up with a matchmaking scheme that could certainly rival any cinematic drama. Theo, and Kenji. So different, butsowell suited.But how to get them together?
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Original Male Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: a series of non-disclosure dilemmas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169951
Comments: 26
Kudos: 121





	A Group Effort

**Author's Note:**

> many thanks to [floatingaway4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4) for listening to me ramble about this story, and for naming Kenji! ♡

"It's not that you aren't enough."

It was a lazy Sunday morning. They were seated on barstools at the kitchen island, coffee mugs in their hands and Alex's ankle hooked around Henry's, playing footsie in a way that was technically far less intimate than their activities earlier that morning but that still made Alex's skin tingle all over in a way that wasn't _not_ arousing.

"It's genuinely not that," Henry repeated firmly. "Alex, I cannot stress that enough."

Alex bit his lip, rubbing his naked heel over Henry's ankle once more. To think that they'd gone two rounds, earlier, and this minimal skin-to-skin contact was _still_ completely doing it for him. Alex wasn't sure if that made him utterly pathetic, or just the luckiest guy in the motherfucking world.

God, Henry was hot. Henry was so fucking _hot._

"Alex, love." Henry's tone had turned somewhat exasperated. "This is important. Alright? I need to know that _you_ know that I am in no way dissatisfied with the sex that we have."

Alex grinned lazily.

"Baby. You didn't think that the way you literally _begged_ me for my mouth on your cock, earlier, clued me in on that?"

A smile tugged at Henry's lips.

"I'm serious," he still insisted, and okay, something about the careful earnestness of Henry's tone made Alex cease his movements. "I can't have this conversation unless I know that you're completely aware of exactly how satisfied I am with you as a lover. Because I am."

"Sweetheart. I _know_ that." Alex tried to smile reassuringly. "You've never given me any reason to doubt that you enjoy having sex with me. Never. And I always want to hear about the fantasies you have, and the things you're curious about us trying together. It is, quite frankly, one of _my_ fantasies to listen to my gorgeous boyfriend confess all of his deepest, most intimate sexual desires over breakfast."

"You say that like it's never happened, before," Henry pointed out dryly. Still, he looked quite a bit more comfortable as he continued. "Although this one’s a little… Different? Bit more out there, so to speak."

"Sounds potentially delightful."

That earned Alex a somewhat hesitant grin.

"I mean, yeah. Maybe." Henry looked down at his mug for a moment. "See, I have this image that I just can't get out of my head."

Alex's heartbeat quickened.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Henry licked his lips. "It's you, obviously. You're on the bed, and so am I. And beneath us both, pressed into the mattress, _maybe_ tied to the headboard… There's someone else."

Alex stared at him.

"... Huh."

Henry's eyes flickered up to meet Alex's, a little unsurely.

"That's…" Alex began, only to trail off. God. His brain had shut down almost entirely. "That's hot. Definitely hot."

Henry nodded slowly.

"Is it, um." Alex forced himself to take a deep breath. "I mean. Who is it?"

"It's just, you know. A guy." Henry shrugged, a little sheepishly. "Someone we've taken home, together?"

"Fucking _fuck."_ Alex had to look away for a moment. "That'd be a rather fun pitch."

It _would_ be fun, was the thing. Spotting a guy they both liked, chatting him up together with flirty compliments and lingering touches before candidly making their proposition, watching his expression shift as he understood _exactly_ what the two of them were offering. Taking him home and taking turns kissing and touching as they undressed him, before pushing him into their sheets and tying his wrists down with those paradoxically liberating red ropes that Henry had gifted Alex with, last Valentine's. And there they'd have him – all spread out, desperately willing. At _their_ mercy.

Alex swallowed thickly.

"It's a lot," Henry said slowly. He was studying Alex's expression carefully. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, but… Not in a bad way." Alex managed a shaky smile. "Can I ask… Why?"

Henry bit his lower lip.

"I just… I love you. I love you a whole bloody _lot."_

Alex quietly arched an eyebrow.

"I swear it's relevant," Henry added quickly. "See, sex with you, it's… It's so good. Everything we've explored together has been amazing, and I feel like I'd trust you with just about any fantasy, with any dirty though, and it's just… I sort of wish I could yell that from the rooftops? Because I'm bloody _proud_ of it, is the thing. I'm proud of us. Of everything that we have."

"Sweetheart, as much as I agree with you, we cannot yell about our sex life from any rooftops," Alex pointed out with a wide grin. "We _cannot._ One sex scandal was plenty."

"Quite." Henry smiled briefly. "But the idea of… Of showing someone? Of inviting a hot bloke into our bed, and giving him the complete experience – you'd finger him until he was a bloody wreck, and you’d do that _thing,_ you know which one-”

"You'd blow him," Alex filled in eagerly. God, it was a pretty picture, Henry taking a thick cock into his mouth as Alex played with the guy's nipples, rubbing and licking and _pinching_ and murmuring dirty, enticing encouragements under his breath… "You'd blow him until he forgot his own name."

"We'd mark him," Henry added breathlessly. He reached out a hand, tracing light fingertips across Alex's arm. "We'd both mark him. Give him something to remember us by."

Alex breathed deeply, in and out.

He set aside his coffee mug, and pulled Henry into a heated kiss.

***

"It's just hard to imagine… Who."

Henry turned over on the bed to face Alex.

"Pardon?"

"Who the guy should be," Alex elaborated. The shift in Henry's expression told him that he didn't need to be more specific, despite the fact that it had been more than a week since their first and only conversation on this subject. "I mean, we can't exactly… Publicly proposition anyone, together. Imagine the headlines."

"Alexander, darling." Henry frowned slightly. "You do realize I've never once imagined that the idea us of figuring out an arrangement with a mutual lover could _actually_ happen?"

"An arrangement with a _what_ now?"

"I don't… My threesome terminology is a little rusty." Henry grinned. "But, you know. Someone we'd have sex with, together, from time to time."

Alex stared at him.

"So, more than once?" he still had to ask, just to be sure – Henry nodded. Jesus. "I… I see."

Henry smiled knowingly.

"I just think, if we all ended up liking it… Why deny ourselves more of a good thing?"

"You have a point," Alex admitted shakily. "You really do."

"Well. It's not like it even matters." Henry shrugged. "It's just a silly fantasy. How would we even go about finding someone who would… And God, imagine the NDAs. Imagine asking someone to _draft_ those NDAs."

"That would be a horrific ordeal," Alex agreed readily. Still… "Can I, uh. Would it be okay if I sort of looked into… A couple of things?"

"Well. Sure?" Henry shrugged again, his cheeks a little flushed this time. "Why not."

"So this isn't… I mean." Alex cleared his throat. "This is something that you would want, for _real,_ if it was somehow actually possible?"

Henry met his eyes steadily.

"Yes. Alex, _yes."_

Alex grinned widely.

*******

"An athlete!" Alex exclaimed triumphantly.

Henry looked up from his cup of tea, his expression vaguely confused.

Alex plopped himself down next to Henry on the couch and proudly pushed a spiral notebook into Henry's hands.

"Oh my God," Henry muttered. "Alex… What _is_ all of this?"

"I made a few lists," Alex said brightly. "This one is pros and cons for the whole thing, and you'll notice that there is _quite_ a collection of bullet points under the pros section. But _that_ list is where it's really at. It's ideas for persons who might have a similar situation to ourselves, in the sense that they'd be interested in keeping the whole thing very quiet."

Henry skimmed the page, his brows furrowed. Still, a smile soon tugged at his lips.

"A singer or an actor, someone in politics, Rafael Luna… That one's awfully specific."

"One can only dream." Alex grinned. "But never mind those. I really think that a professional athlete is _it."_

Henry tilted his head to the left.

"How so?"

"Because they rely so much on sponsorships."

Henry blinked.

"Sponsors have brands to protect," Alex continued eagerly. "And as much publicity as it would be to go public about having been fucked by America's first son and a prince of Britain, that's just _not_ the kind of publicity that a brand that invests in an athlete is going for. They're paying for that hardworking, sportsmanlike, crispy-clean image – or at least, that's got to be the image of anyone we seriously consider for this endeavour. That way, _he'll_ be the one pulling out an NDA before we've even gotten the chance to tell him that we're not actually joking."

Henry looked up from the notebook. His eyes were a little wider than usually.

"But it's not, I mean... We'd still need an NDA on our end. A bloody thorough one."

"Yeah. Definitely."

"And we can't be sure that there's _anyone_ who we'd both… I mean. I wouldn't be prepared to do this with just anyone."

"Oh, for sure."

Henry frowned.

"Alex. The chances of us actually finding someone who'd be a good fit? They're not great."

"No, I know," Alex agreed gently. He reached out to take Henry's hand. "I know. But, if we ever do… It'd help if we were prepared. If we had talked through what we both want, and actually drafted that NDA."

Henry nodded slowly.

"I guess that's true," he agreed. "It would really suck to meet someone who sparked both of our interests, only to hesitate because of some stupid logistical reason."

"Yes," Alex agreed eagerly. "Exactly. So, that NDA. Can I-"

"Yes. Alright." Henry grimaced. "Just… As discreetly as possible? God, if my family found out. If my _mother_ found out."

"I was thinking I’d gonna go through a friend from law school. He can get it done, and that way we wouldn’t need to run it by… Well. Anyone else.”

"That's adequate, I guess." Henry smiled slightly. "Did I ever tell you that it's kind of sexy when you make fool-proof, step-by-step action plans for how to expand our adventures in the bedroom?”

“Only every single time, baby.” Alex grinned. “Oh, by the way. I sort of got us tickets to most of the men’s events at the Olympics, next month. Surprise?

Henry choked on his tea.

***

The men’s 10 metre platform diving final brought... Interesting results.

It was an intense competition, or at least it seemed like one, but neither Alex nor Henry were familiar enough with the sport to understand why some of the guys kept scoring higher than the others, and the in-arena commentators didn’t really provide any background information like those on television usually did. Still, all of the competitors looked admittedly impressive as they burst through the air with complex twists and turns and elegantly broke the surface of the water. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were all wearing teeny, tiny swimming trunks, either. All in all, not a bad afternoon.

Still, Alex couldn’t say that he didn’t feel something of an extra thrill when the big screen showed the bronze medalist stepping up on the podium with a wide, blinding, fucking contagious smile, raising both hands to wave to the crowd, and Henry’s grip on Alex’s thigh suddenly tightened.

It was, weirdly enough, the first time they had seen that athlete with his clothes on.

“Yeah?” Alex said quietly.

Henry nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

“He’s pretty,” he murmured. “Isn’t he?”

“Pretty _hot,_ I’d say.”

Henry grinned.

“Well. That, too.”

Alex cocked his head to the side, considering. It wasn’t hard to fathom why this guy had caught Henry’s eye. He was, objectively, gorgeous – tall, broad shoulders, red curls cut stylishly short, freckles in places Alex didn’t even know you could have them and absolutely stunning green eyes. But more than that, there was something about his relaxed, easy smile, and the way something he said seemed to make one of the judges laugh out loud as he shook her hand, that seemed… Decent. Which was maybe a weird descriptor for a potential hookup, but Alex couldn’t say that he liked the idea of offering mindblowing sex with himself and his genuinely wonderful boyfriend to anyone who didn’t one hundred percent deserve everything that they wanted to give.

“I like him,” Alex decided. He turned towards Henry, and murmured his next words in a chaste kiss against Henry’s cheek. “I’d… Hold him down while you fucked him? Maybe.”

“Christ, Alex,” Henry muttered. He shifted in his seat, his thigh pressing firmly against Alex’s. “Yeah. Yes.”

“Yeah?” Alex asked, grinning. “Alright. So, just who are we dealing with, here?”

Henry had already pulled out his phone.

“Theodore Andersen,” he said, scrolling down a Wikipedia page. “Canadian. Twenty-four.”

“Is this his first Olympics?”

“No, his second, but this is his first medal, and… Wow. He’s gay. He’s _actually_ gay.”

“Wait. Really?”

“Apparently.” Henry smiled eagerly. “What are the odds, huh?”

“Is he in a relationship?” Alex asked. It all sounded a little too good to be true. “He’s a catch, clearly.”

“Single, from what I can find,” Henry told him breathlessly. “He used to compete in synchronized diving, but now he’s only focusing on…”

Henry trailed off. Up on the screen, Theodore had just offered the camera a flirty wink.

Alex swallowed.

“So. Obviously, we should talk to him. As soon as fucking possible. See if he’s equally charming in a less public setting.”

“I imagine he’ll be quite busy, this week,” Henry pointed out weakly. “He just won an actual Olympic medal.”

“Too busy to be congratulated by the gay power couple of the century?” Alex wondered confidently. “Come on. There’s no way he won’t make time. Let’s just ask.”

Henry smiled.

“I guess we’ll have to.”

***

It was, quite officially, the most absurd evening of Theodore’s entire life.

He had been so sure it was a joke, at first, when one of the delegation coordinators had called him up to ask if he would by any chance like to have dinner with Alex Claremont-Diaz and His Actual Royal Highness Prince Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Whatever-Else-His-Name-Was?

“There must be some mistake. I’m Canadian. They do know that I’m _Canadian,_ right?”

“Pretty sure they do.” Nadya had sounded just about as bewildered as Theo felt. “Mr Claemont-Diaz said they saw you in the final, and want to offer their congratulations in person.”

“Are the other medalists invited, too?”

“No, this is… It’d just be you and them.” Nadya had paused for a second. “You don’t _have to_ say yes. Alright? Never mind how rich or famous these people are. If this idea makes you at all uncomfortable, then decline. You don’t owe them anything.”

“Are you _kidding?”_ Theo hadn’t been able to contain his grin. “Do you have any idea what it meant for queer people all over the world when those two came out? When they picked up the pieces from the media shitshow that was The Waterloo Letters and just, like, fucking _owned_ it? If I didn’t say yes to this, I’d hate myself forever.”

Which was how Theo found himself in a private room at some frighteningly fancy restaurant, eating his way through a three course meal that his pre-competition diet would _never_ have allowed and answering a series of surprisingly curious questions from one of the world’s most prolific gay couples.

Absurd. Truly absurd.

“It sounds like your occupation lets you travel even more than myself,” Henry was saying – he’d insisted, several times, that Theo should call him by his first name. Which was something of a relief, given that Theo had literally _zero_ knowledge about the rules for addressing someone with an actual royal title. “Must be fun, in some ways.”

“In some ways,” Theo agreed easily. It was. “Sometimes it’s, you know. A bit lonely. I don’t spend a lot of time not training, or resting, or hopping on another plane. But it’s all absolutely worth it, in the end.”

As if on cue, Alex and Henry exchanged a strangely heavy glance. And, well. If Theo thought about it, that was far from the first time they had done so during the course of the evening. Really, everything about the energy between those two had been… Surprising. Intriguing. Maybe sort of more than a little bit hot?

Theo forced himself to take another bite of the absolutely delectable raspberry panna cotta. God. Just who did he think he was, thirsting after _two_ of the biggest queer icons in the whole fucking world?

He needed to get a hold of himself, before he ended up doing something completely mortifying.

“So,” Alex said.

Theo met his eyes. Something about the sudden lightness of Alex’s tone felt… Significant.

“You’re great,” Alex continued, pausing momentarily. “We both think so. And on that subject, we were hoping to talk to you about something that we’d appreciate if you kept… In confidence.”

Theo’s breath hitched. He looked from Alex to Henry, taking in how they were both watching him intently, how Henry’s eyes seemed to flicker down to Theo’s lips every so often. Fuck. Fucking _fuck._ Were they-

“We’re looking for, well. For a third.” Henry licked his lips. “Not in a relationship sense, that is, but in the bedroom. Occasionally.”

“We won’t be offended if that’s not something you’re interested in,” Alex added. His tone was very firm. “There’s no pressure. We just wanted to put it out there.”

Theo managed a shaky breath.

“I, uh.” He swallowed, completely aware of how both Alex and Henry were following his every movement. God. How was he supposed to fucking _think._ “I live in Canada. That’s… You know. Not where you live?”

“That is correct,” Henry said slowly. “Is that your way of… I mean, we’d be more than prepared to work around that. Unless you’re trying to turn us down gently?”

“There’s no need for kid-gloves, man.” Alex was frowning slightly. “You can just say no. It’s fine.”

“Are you kidding me?” Theo exclaimed incredulously. “Say _no?_ Do you think I’m fucking stupid?”

Alex and Henry exchanged a quick glance.

“Really?” Henry said, sort of faintly.

“Fuck, _yes,_ okay? I mean, you’re both just… Just really something.” Theo swallowed. “Just, it’s, you know. People can’t _know._ Even a single rumour might be disastrous. I do a lot of work with big, family-oriented brands, and the gay thing’s been unexpectedly fine, but something like this? Could seriously ruin me.”

For some reason, Alex had started to grin.

“Yes, I know,” Henry sighed. He turned towards Alex with a smile. “You were right, love. Good job.”

“Man, I love being me,” Alex said triumphantly. “It’s got incredible perks such as being fucking _awesome.”_

Henry just shook his head, the look in his eyes very fond.

Theo leaned back a little in his chair. Huh. Was this how the two of them were with each other, in private?

It was… Kind of obnoxiously sweet.

“Obviously, we would also want to be very discreet about this,” Henry continued, his gaze back on Theo. “To be completely honest, we’d need you to sign a pretty massive non-disclosure agreement. Preferably tonight? Of course, we’d be more than prepared to do the same for you.”

“You really came prepared,” Theo noted. And okay, that was actually kind of… Impressive. He grinned. “That’s weirdly sexy.”

“Yes, nothing like a ton of legalese to really set the mood,” Henry remarked dryly. He smiled. “It’s not exactly my idea of foreplay.”

Theo’s breath hitched.

“What _is_ your idea of foreplay?”

“Oh, we can talk about foreplay.” Alex leaned forward a little. “We can _definitely_ talk about foreplay. Theodore, how would you feel-”

“Please, Theo is better,” Theo cut in. “If we’re… Yeah. Just Theo.”

Alex grinned.

“Alright. Theo. What’s your honest opinion on the concept of blindfolds?”

***

Fuck, fuck, _fuck-_

Theo was struggling to get his breath back under control. It was just, there was so much, almost _too_ much, to feel.

Henry, the actual literal fucking _prince_ Henry, had just popped his mouth off of Theo’s cock yet again and was licking long, slow stripes all the way from the hilt to the tip, one hand fondling Theo’s balls lazily. Meanwhile, Alex was playing with Theo’s nipples, alternating between the hot, wet, fucking _decadent_ suction of his mouth and the intoxicatingly sharp drag of his blunt fingernails.

“You gonna go again, baby?” Alex murmured against his skin, and shit, the fucker was talking to _Henry,_ wasn’t he? “Might wanna give him a second, or he’ll actually come.”

“I know,” Henry rasped out. Jesus, his voice was fucking obscene. “He tastes so fucking good.”

Theo groaned, his hips bucking upwards helplessly, except it was no use – Henry mercilessly pressed him back into the mattress, his hot breath on Theo’s cock the only semblance of friction. His tongue brushed briefly, teasingly, against Theo’s slit.

Theo pulled helplessly at the ropes that bound his hands, only to find it was just as useless as before. Fucking restraints. Fucking blindfold. Fucking sexy _bastards._

“He’s holding up better than I thought,” Henry observed, his voice a little more steady and surprisingly warm. “Think he can guess how much time has passed? How long he’s got left?”

“No idea.” Alex methodically closed his mouth around Theo’s right nipple, sucking intently for a moment before relaxing his jaw, letting his teeth drag lightly against Theo’s sensitive skin as he pulled back – somehow, miraculously, Theo managed to keep himself from uttering more than a soft whine. “Remember last time, when you were up to four fingers and he literally would not shut himself up for a second? This is some self-control.”

“It’s all about the proper incitament, isn’t it?” Suddenly, a single, blunt finger rubbed against Theo’s entrance, just briefly. Theo bit down on his lower lip, hard. Fuck. _Fuck._ “We all know exactly what he wants.”

“He’s being so good for us. You might wanna reward him, just a little bit.”

“Yeah,” Henry breathed out. “I was just about to.”

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Henry’s mouth was back on Theo’s cock, unceremoniously taking him all the way down. Except this time, Henry’s hand found its way to Theo’s ass again, his thumb rubbing methodically over Theo’s hole, an insistent reminder of everything the two of them weren’t letting him have, just yet.

Theo moaned helplessly. He had no fucking clue how much time could’ve passed, how much longer they were still going to keep him like this, writhing and desperate and completely at their mercy. Fuck, if he wasn’t going to wake up from hot dreams about this for _months._

Somehow, this whole endeavour was turning into the worst and also the absolutely fucking _best_ decision of his goddamn life.

***

“So. Favourite Star Wars film?”

They were all still catching their breaths. Alex had carefully untied Theo’s wrists, and Henry had pressed a bottle of water into his hands. Theo opened it and gulped down a mouthful. God. He felt achingly, wonderfully fucked out.

“It’s got to be Empire, right?” Alex continued. “Obviously.”

For some reason, that made Henry roll his eyes sort of fondly.

Theo merely shrugged. He had started to get used to Alex’s tendency for making all sorts of inane conversation, right after. It seemed to be Alex’s roundabout way to sort of indirectly check in with Theo, and make sure that he didn’t seem shaken up in any way.

It was actually quite thoughtful.

“A New Hope. But I mean, Empire’s great, too.”

“Excuse me?”

Henry groaned.

“Alex, love. Please. You’ll scare him away.”

Theo glanced between them, a little curiously.

“You don’t like A New Hope?”

“I like it just fine,” Alex stated through gritted teeth. “But _come on._ Empire has so much more depth! And the plot twist of the century, plus Han at the top of his game-”

“Han Solo came to life in A New Hope, though,” Theo countered easily. “His introduction is killer, and we get to meet Luke and Leia and see them all team up at the end to blow up the very first Death Star. Which was basically the groundwork for literally every Star Wars narrative, after.”

“But Yoda!” Alex immediately fired back. “He’s not even _in_ A New Hope. Not to mention Lando Calrissian.”

“I mean, sure?” Theo was starting to feel a little uncertain of where Alex was going with this. “A New Hope is still my favourite, though. That’s not really something you can win an argument about.”

“See?” Henry cut in – for some reason, he sounded absolutely delighted. “Couldn’t agree more, Theo.”

“Fuck you, too,” Alex muttered.

Still, he was smiling gently, and actually definitely more towards Henry, than Theo. It made Theo avert his eyes, reflexively.

There were certain parts of this arrangement that would always feel a little bit _too_ private.

***

“It’s, you know. A really big opportunity.” Theo ran a hand through his hair absently. “And I’m going to be really, really busy, is the thing. And much further away.”

“Theo, that sounds completely amazing. We’re both really happy for you.” Henry’s voice always sounded a little different, over the phone. Still, the warmth in his tone seemed genuine as he continued. “I’m guessing that what you’re trying to convey, here, is that you’re not going to be available to come visit us from now on?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Theo sighed. “I’m sorry, man. It’s honestly been great.”

“It has.” Henry was quiet for a moment. “You know, we really never thought… It wasn’t ever likely that we’d actually find someone who could be such a good fit. I’m really glad it was you.”

_“I’m_ glad it was me.” Theo smiled. “You know, what you two have… It’s kind of extraordinary. When I look back on my past relationships, it’s just… It’s never been like that. Not even close. You’ve sort of set an impossibly high bar for any potential future boyfriends of mine, if I’m honest.”

“Theo, that can’t be true.” Henry’s tone was soft. “Any guy would be very lucky to have you.”

“It’s not that. Not really.” Theo paused. It was proving unexpectedly difficult, putting it all into words properly. “You and Alex are so... It's really something, how you each bring out the very best in the other. Maybe it’s weird, but I think that’s kind of what I always got off on, more than anything else.”

“Oh, Theo.” Henry sounded almost bashful. “That’s… I’m sure you’ll get to have that with someone. You really are quite lovely. I think your person must be out there, somewhere, just waiting to meet you.”

“I guess we’ll see.” Theo smiled again. “So, thanks again. It’s been a time.”

“It has. Good luck with your new training team in the UK. We head over there every so often, for obvious reasons, and it’d be nice if we could meet up just for a cup of coffee, sometime? As friends. We do actually like just hanging out with you, you know.”

“Yeah,” Theo agreed, after a moment. “I’d really like that.”

He hadn’t really expected, well. Any of this, but especially not _this._ Still, what Henry had said felt… Surprisingly accurate. They _were_ friends, weren’t they? When had that happened? And how in the world was Theo supposed to explain to his new colleagues that he was on a first-name basis with a member of their royal family?

Hopefully, it would never come up.

“Good.” Henry sounded surprisingly pleased. “I’ll let you go, I’m sure you have lots of things to do.”

“I do, yeah. Give Alex my best?”

“Of course. We’ll talk to you soon.”

***

“That’s too bad.” Alex smiled wistfully. “I’m really gonna miss, you know. Coming up with ideas to pitch him for our next session. Teaming up with you to take him apart as thoroughly as possible.”

“I’m gonna miss all of that, too,” Henry confessed. He sighed. “And it’s not like we’d ever in a million years be lucky enough to strike gold like that a second time.”

“Probably not,” Alex agreed gently. “We should, you know. Send a lovely fruit basket to his new UK residence. Convey our appreciation properly.”

Henry chuckled.

“I think he’s more than aware, darling, but sure. A fruit basket it is.”

***

Kenji was… Well. Unexpected didn’t even _begin_ to cover it.

They met him at an art gallery opening in Queens. It was hosted in collaboration with one of Henry and Pez’s LGBT youth shelters, with the art on display being made by a group of exclusively queer artists. Kenji had walked right up to them as Alex and Henry had been perusing what would turn out to be Kenji’s section of the exhibit.

“Hi. Kenji Tomoko.” Kenji stuck out his hand confidently. “It’s very cool that you're here. Thank you both for supporting our project.”

“It’s our pleasure.” Alex gamely shook his hand, keeping his smile polite. “I’m Alex, hi. This is my boyfriend, Henry.”

“Very nice to meet you.” Kenji turned towards Henry with a slight grin. “I… Have no idea how to properly address you.”

“Please, just Henry is fine.” Henry mirrored Alex’s polite smile as he offered his hand. “You’ve painted these, I think? They’re very... Interesting.”

They were also very, _very_ naked.

Kenji’s grin widened.

“What can I say,” he returned coyly, leaning casually against the wall. “I had a very… Shall we say _inspiring_ weekend, a couple months back. Sat down to make my rough sketches for this, right after. Hence the subject matter.”

Alex and Henry exchanged a look. Henry was biting his lip to keep his smile from widening too much. Alex figured he could afford to let his own expression shift into a knowing grin, just briefly.

“Good for you, man. Must’ve been some inspiration.”

“Oh, I’m sure you've both had similarly great experiences.” Kenji’s eyes flickered between the two of them for a moment, sort of like he couldn’t decide which one of them he wanted to look at more. Huh. “It's, you know. All part of the full human experience."

"Well," Henry said, quite carefully.

Alex glanced at him, surprised to hear a familiar curiosity in the tone of Henry's voice. Then again, he couldn't say that he was _entirely_ surprised. Kenji was handsome in a very classic way – black hair that was swept back and stylishly tousled, framing his piercing, dark eyes quite perfectly. He had high, prominent cheekbones and a smile that was somehow both delightfully flirtatious and at the same time just that _little_ bit flustered. He was, quite frankly, intriguing.

Henry didn't meet Alex's gaze. Instead, without taking his eyes away from Kenji, he squeezed Alex's hand in his very tightly.

Alex didn't hesitate even for a second. He squeezed back.

Immediately, Henry's stance shifted. He put his other hand casually in Alex's back pocket, pulling Alex just a bit closer and bringing them both significantly closer to Kenji in the process. To an onlooker it probably didn't look much different, but Alex certainly felt the fundamental shift in tension between the three of them.

He watched curiously as Kenji visibly swallowed.

"You're really talented," Henry told Kenji pleasantly. "You must have been painting for a long time? How old are you?"

"... Twenty-three. I'm twenty-three."

Kenji glanced between them both again, rather expectantly. He was still smiling, but the look in his eyes had changed. It seemed as if he was searching for something in their expressions.

"So we're all about the same age," Alex chimed in. He let his eyes linger unsubtly at Kenji's lips for a moment. "Isn't that just something?"

“Something,” Kenji echoed curiously.

He was smiling a little wider, now, his easy confidence from before returning slowly but surely, and there was something about the sudden intensity in his gaze that could really only mean one thing.

Alex bit his lower lip, contemplating. They evidently didn't need to lay it on much thicker than that. And either way, they certainly couldn't continue this conversation _here._

"Tell you what, here's my card." Henry pulled out his wallet and procured a business card for the shelter, one of the rare variety that also contained Henry's personal contact details. "Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to… Talk more about what inspires your work? With both of us."

Kenji carefully accepted the card. He looked at it for a rather long moment, as if it truly gave him much to contemplate.

Then he cocked his head to the side, grinning.

“I’ll think about it,” he said coyly, despite the rather obvious fact that he was pocketing the card carefully. “Meanwhile, why don’t _you_ think about which one of you gentlemen you’d like me to find inspiration within, first?”

Henry’s breath hitched, his hand in Alex’s twitching. Alex, meanwhile, found himself unable to bite back his own widening grin.

“Well,” Kenji continued. He looked pleased in a way that was both a little bit infuriating, but more importantly very appealing. “I suppose I’ll be in touch. You two enjoy the rest of your evening.”

And just like that he was off, probably on his way to strike up an easy conversation with someone else who most people would’ve found it somewhat intimidating to approach.

Evidently, Kenji wasn’t most people.

“Okay,” Henry said quietly. “That was probably reckless. Fun, but outrageously stupid.”

“Definitely, yeah.” Alex turned to catch Henry’s eye, smiling. “You know… I don’t think that guy is going to let us tie him down and have our wicked way with him.”

Henry swallowed.

“Is it very bad,” he began tentatively, “If I’d sort of like him to have his wicked way with _me?”_

“Fuck,” Alex muttered, the image already quite vivid in his mind.

And, well. Something about the idea of _watching,_ of sitting back and drinking in the picture Henry painted as a hot stranger fucked him relentlessly, being able to see _all_ of Henry, his arched back, every inch of beautiful, naked skin, yet also staying close enough to be able to touch and kiss and fucking _worship_ if he so wished to…

“Baby. We need to make that happen.”

***

Kenji was a delight.

Alex couldn’t stop grinning, even as he gently wiped Henry down with a wet cloth and pressed a soft kiss to his hip. Henry blinked his eyes open, his own grin lazy and relaxed in a way that Alex found entirely familiar. Fuck, he was beautiful. And watching as Kenji had taken him apart quite methodically, reducing Henry to a whimpering, desperate wreck by the end of it, had really been something.

And speaking of Kenji. He was sitting on the edge of their bed, watching with a sort of hesitant fondness as Alex took care of Henry.

Alex leaned over the side of the bed, collecting the water bottles that they’d left there, earlier. He gave one to Henry, before opening the other one and holding it out for Kenji.

“So,” he said pleasantly. “Thank you.”

Kenji smiled. He carefully accepted the water bottle.

“Honestly, it was my pleasure.”

“Pretty sure it was _mine,”_ Henry interjected weakly. He turned over on his side, reaching out to intertwine his finger’s with Alex’s. “Really, thank you. That was fun.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Kenji took a sip of water. “It’s a genuine travesty that I can’t tell anyone.”

“I know, man, the downsides of hooking up with a literal prince?” Alex said, grinning. “I could tell you stories.”

“Please, like you haven’t been busting out an NDA after every hookup ever since your mum got the nomination.” Henry rolled his eyes fondly. “Pot, kettle.”

“Well,” Kenji said calmly, a glint in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I suppose I’ll have to content myself with channeling this energy into my next project. If there’s an abundance of delightfully thick cocks and lush lips in my paintings, you’ll both know why.”

Oh. Oh, wow.

“We’ll have to see that exhibit.” Alex turned towards Henry with an eager smile. “Won’t we?”

“For sure,” Henry agreed. He looked a little flustered. “I mean… Yeah.”

Kenji grinned.

“It’ll be a good while, before I’m anywhere near ready for a vernissage. And I’ve actually just accepted a residency in London, so. It’s likely that all of this will take place across the pond.”

“Oh, you can bet that we’ll still make it,” Alex informed him brightly. “I hope you’ll get to have fun with all the British gays, while you’re there. _Some_ of them can seem pretty posh, at first, but that’s typically mostly the accent.”

“Hey, now.” Henry grinned. “I’ll have you know there are plenty of _very_ posh British gays out there who are still _loads_ of fun, regardless of accent.”

“Well. I’m not too concerned with accents, if we’re talking about types,” Kenji said evenly. He took another gulp of water. “But I wouldn’t mind terribly if I’d just so happen to cross paths with a classic Charlie Weasley.”

“Huh.” Alex contemplated that for a second. “I’ve always been more of a Draco Malfoy guy, myself.”

“Shocker,” Kenji remarked dryly. He smiled. “Good for you.”

As they were getting dressed, Alex couldn’t resist bringing up his favourite pop culture debate, if only because he knew it’d make Henry laugh.

“Can I ask you a Star Wars question?”

_“Alex,”_ Henry sighed, right on cue. Still, he _was_ smiling. “Would you, for once in your life, just shut up?”

“You could make me,” Alex suggested merrily.

Henry rolled his eyes.

Kenji was glancing between them, a little unsurely.

“I do love Star Wars. Was that the question?”

“Nah.” Alex grinned. “The question is, why is Empire your preferred Star Wars film?”

“Oh. It’s not.” Kenji frowned slightly. “I mean, Empire’s awesome, but A New Hope? That’s where it’s really at.”

Henry, the fucking traitor, laughed.

Alex sighed deeply.

“You, too?” he muttered, narrowing his eyes towards Kenji. “Should’ve known.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t get it. Who else?”

Alex exchanged a quick glance with Henry. He tried his best to bite back his smile.

“You would never believe what an outrageously complicated question that is.”

***

“You know,” Henry said, stirring his cup of tea slowly. “Remember that thing Kenji said?”

“Baby, Kenji said quite a lot of things.”

“Well. He only said _one_ thing that I’ve been thinking about all week.” Henry was looking unusually contemplative. “Charlie Weasley.”

Alex raised both of his eyebrows.

“He said that’s his type,” Henry elaborated. “Alex. Don’t we _know_ someone who very much fits that description? A redhead, tall, broad shoulders… Currently living in the UK?”

“Oh, shit,” Alex breathed out. “You’re right. You’re _right.”_

Henry pushed his cup of tea to the side.

“Don’t you think that Theo would… Properly appreciate the way Kenji takes charge? And that _thing_ Kenji did with his tongue, isn’t that-”

“Kind of _exactly_ the sort of thing that’d make Theo come untouched,” Alex finished for him. He nodded slowly. “Yeah. You’re really onto something, here.”

“They like the same movies,” Henry added with a smile. “They’d have things to talk about, too.”

“They need to meet,” Alex decided quickly. “Henry. We _have to_ make this happen.”

“We kind of do, don’t we?” Henry agreed. “Alright. Let’s figure this thing out.”

***

It was, Theo thought privately, kind of the third most surreal experience of his life.

The first had been seeing his own name next to the words _Olympic medalist_ , and the second had involved the very same power couple that were currently right across the room talking to some ridiculously famous actress at this weirdly timed luncheon that they’d for some reason decided to invite Theo to. Alex had even posted a picture to his Instagram where Theo appeared in one corner – only minutes later, Theo’s phone had started to blow up with mentions and text messages from literally everyone he’d ever known. God. Maybe he should start working on coming up with some sort of mostly true explanation for his friendship with Alex and Henry. They’d met at the Olympics. Was that enough, or would he need to think of something that-

“Hi.”

Theo turned around.

It was a guy.

A _very_ hot guy.

“Kenji Tomoko.” The guy held out his hand, and Theo shook it – surprisingly, the guy took more than a few seconds before he let go. Wow. Okay. “You’re a sports person, I believe? I feel like I’ve seen you on the news.”

“Theodore Andersen.” Theo smiled tentatively. “I, um. I’m a diver? I platform dive.”

_“Right.”_ Kenji snapped his fingers. “Canadian, yeah? You speak a bit of French?”

“I mean.” Theo cleared his throat. “A lot of Canadians do.”

Kenji grinned.

“So. Just how do you know the prince and his consort?”

“That’s, er... It’s a very long story.” Theo attempted a shrug. “We met at the Olympics, is the short version.”

“Fair enough.” Evidently, Kenji seemed to sense that this wasn’t the right moment to start prying. Thank God. “I had the pleasure of getting to know them through this art thing. I’m a painter.”

“That’s cool,” Theo said. “What style do you usually…?”

Something about Kenji’s dangerously widening grin made Theo trail off. His breath hitched.

“Well,” Kenji said. His voice was much lower than before “Let’s just say... I wouldn’t exactly mind getting _you_ on my canvas.”

God, it was such a line, yet Theo’s heartbeat still quickened. There was something about the frank certainty in Kenji’s eyes, about the way he looked at Theo as if Theo was someone he had been wanting to find for a very long time, that made him quite impossible to resist.

Theo licked his lips.

“That could be… Arranged.”

“Yeah?” Kenji asked hopefully. “Sweetheart. I’d love nothing more than to take you apart quite thoroughly, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Theo’s heart was pounding in his ears. God. This man was going to be the end of him, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” he breathed out. “Please. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Kenji grinned widely.

***

“Look, baby.” Alex held up his phone so that Henry could see the Instagram post that Kenji had just put up. It was an artistic, quite classy picture of Theo in the nude. The comments were already blowing up. “Now _that_ is a power couple.”

“More like a mad-with-power couple,” Henry said, smiling. “Kenji won’t stop pestering me about hanging his works at Buckingham. I don’t know how many times I’ve explained that I don’t curate the art of the crown.”

“Maybe we should actually tell him that we’ve got several of his paintings right here in our bedroom,” Alex suggested merrily. “Think that’d satisfy him?”

“Are you kidding?” Henry laughed. He reached out for Alex’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he looked up at the largest canvas on their wall, the one that depicted one thick, slightly curved cock and a pair of dark-skinned hands wrapped lovingly around it. “He’d never shut up about that.”

“Maybe he would, if Theo asked him to.”

Henry’s smile softened.

“Oh, he would. I think Kenji would do just about anything, if it was for Theo.”

Alex smiled, too.

“They’d better invite us to the wedding.”

“Oh, _please._ Like Kenji isn’t going to ask us to bloody officiate.”

Alex grinned.

“Do you think they’ll ever… Connect the dots?”

Henry smiled sheepishly.

“Probably at some point? That’ll be a fun conversation.”

“We could just tell them.”

“No, _God_ no.” Henry grinned. “You will not deprive me of the golden comedy that will eventually ensue from this.”

“Well. If you say so.” Alex cleared his throat. “Actually, Henry... Can I tell you about something? There’s this fantasy that I’ve been sort of... Getting off thinking about, lately.”

“Oh. Really?” Henry turned curiously towards Alex. “Is this going to involve, um… An additional person? Because to be honest, I think I’ve kind of already experienced that... Just enough. I mean, it was _great._ Really great. But it’s been a good while since I last imagined us doing that.”

“No, that’s how I feel, too.” Alex smiled hesitantly. “This is something a little… Well. It’s pretty different, is the thing. A bit out there.”

Henry licked his lips. He squeezed Alex’s hand in his.

“Do tell?”

**Author's Note:**

> so this was truly extremely fun to write! come talk to me on [tumblr](https://everwitch-magiks.tumblr.com/) about Alex and Henry and all the ways they're perfect for each other ♡


End file.
